July 4! Big day for our American friends.

To all my American cyberspace friends - Happy July 4!

An ATC with Oriental influence.

I didn't know which blog to post this photo on. It is my most recent ATC, but made of paper, not fabric. (If it was fabric, I would have put it on my Stitching blog). It is not a swap card in the sense of playing cards, so I couldn't post it on my Swapcards blog. OMG, how did I get so involved in all this blogging??? Sharon, it's all your fault.
Anyway here is my Oriental influenced ATC, copied from a tutorial that Val emailed me some time ago.

To quote Queen Elizabeth II....

2009 has so far been Annus-horribilis.
The global financial meltdown from 2008 continued, then early this year we had fires and floods of terrifying proportions in Australia. A few months later, the swine flu scare had most people worried about themselves and each other. There have been the usual spate of deaths of famous people, many tragedies around the world on planes, trains and buses, and of course the never ending daily toll of car smashes.

On a more personal level, Ken's Mum was put into care after a 2 month stay with us ended with a fall; I lost my job, and my neck problems have become worse. But nothing can be as horrible as having your house burgled. This happened last week to my friend Sharon and her family. Ken and I visited them on Saturday night to try and cheer them, and I took Sharon out today to browse needlecraft shops and op shops. It was nice, but she had to go home, and I could feel her tension as we pulled into the driveway. Ken has had a car and two motorcycles stolen from him, many years ago. Most of our other friends have at some time been burgled too, and they all say it is one of the worst things that can happen to you, the feeling of being violated, of having your personal space violated. I've always had a fear of having our house burn down. I'm not sure which would be worse, and I have no desire to find out.

Photos I took yesterday at Hurstbridge.

I'm not sure if the residents of Hurstbridge consider themselves rural or outer suburban - it could be either, as they are 32 kilometres northeast of Melbourne, and their railway station is the last one on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the metropolitan rail network. Whatever it is classified as, Hurstbridge is a pretty little town, with a uniquely Australian feel to it. Someone told me the other day that if the wind hadn't changed direction on Black Saturday, Hurstbridge would have gone.
There are many other picturesque towns on the fringes of Melbourne with a similar feel, but as this one is the nearest to me, I decided to do a post on the blog for the benefit of my overseas readers, who also produce walkabout posts on their blogs about their local towns.
Strolling down the main street of Hurstbridge, you will find the railway station and some small business concerns on the right, and a variety of commercial shops and business on the left - bank, post office, cafes, real estate agents, etc.

This group of shops is behind the main street, and is a very pleasant area to sit and have a coffee with a friend after you've done your shopping. It is close to the children's playground (below).
The children's playground is situated among plenty of trees to provide shade on warm days.

Rusty iron roof and the sign "Anzac Avenue" contribute to that Aussie feel!



This isn't in Hurstbridge, but I'm including it on this post because it was taken on one of the roads we travelled on yesterday while driving between Hurstbridge and Kinglake. It was a pine plantation before the fires. I think the timber can still be used, as they were in the process of felling trees and loading them on to trucks to be transported somewhere, and it looked okay underneath the scorched bark.

Today was a nice day in many ways.

I took the last of Lorna's fabric postcards to Kinglake Middle Primary School today.
The school had been burnt to the ground (this is all that is left - a concrete slab)

but temporary classrooms and offices have been erected nearby.


The principal was delighted to receive the box of postcards, and like all before her, was very touched by the messages written on the backs by the English children. She said she would send a postcard out with the school newsletter this week so every family would get one. I thought that was a great idea, as the parents would receive it in the mail instead of their kids bringing one home, and perhaps losing it on the way!
Have a look at these...the children had made up posters to thank all the people who helped their community during and after the fires. These were inside the window of one of the classrooms.

The top poster thanks the firemen, and the bottom one thanks the SES (State Emergency Service). I couldn't make out the centre one. There were other posters around the school, thanking police and ambulance drivers among others.


After I left the school, I went to Hurstbridge where I met a friend for lunch. She works at the Community Bank. Doesn't look like a regular bank, does it!
Hurstbridge is a tiny little town, and when the major banks closed down and moved out because there wasn't enough money in it for them, the Community Bank moved in, and they are doing very well indeed. Good on them - this has happened in many of our rural towns, and the local people find it hard to get to a major country town to their bank. So the Community Banks have been a godsend, and they are the ones reaping the profits when the locals close their accounts with the big banks!
While I was waiting for Sandra to come out for lunch, I went for a walk along Main Street. It is such a pretty town, I couldn't resist taking some photos.
I resisted temptation and didn't go into the opshop here

Or the antique shop next door

But when I strolled past the gift shop

and saw these delightful carved penguins, I just had to see what they had inside.

The shop is full of delightfully whimsical nick nacks, and when I saw these chooks, well...out came the wallet. Salt and pepper shakers, and one that sits on the edge of a shelf.

I've got some more photos, but it's 2 am for goodness sake! I'm off to bed, and will post the others tomorrow - er, later today.

How often does this happen?!

When I bought my new washing machine last month, the instructions said that if the purchaser lodges the warranty information online, they would be automatically put into a competition draw for a prize. I thought "Oh yeah, righto", completed the information required, and forgot all about it. Last Friday, I received an email from Retravision, saying I'd won $1000 worth of electrical appliances, and would I please confirm my residential address so they could make delivery! Ken said "that's a hoax, don't do anything", but I remembered the warranty deal, and ignored his advice. Just as well - look what arrived today! Two BIG boxes.

Unpacked in the garage, because they were too cumbersome to carry upstairs, were all these goodies!


Well, I guess one has to get lucky some time! Ken snapped up the shaver, as he has never had an electric shaver, prefering to use a safety razor. But this one is worth $199 according to the list, so he reckons it is worth trying.
I'll keep the hand blender, as I've often thought I'd like one of those. But the rest will go to the Bushfire Recovery Centre, as after looking at the toaster and jug, we still prefer our present kettle and toaster. And I have no need of a juicer, hair straightener, or electric hair plucker thing, although Ken said it would be ideal to get the hairs that grow in his nose...forget it!!!!!

I dropped into the Hurstbridge Recovery Centre today while I was up there, and told the lady in charge about my windfall. She was more excited than I was! And when I told her I'd be donating most of it to them, well...I think I made her day, LOL!

This is the Hurstbridge Bushfire Recovery Centre. These centres are scattered around the outskirts of Melbourne, and people can take goods there to be donated to the bushfire survivors.

Signs on the gate outside the recovery centre give you an idea of what people have lost. I'm not sure about the fishing trip request though...perhaps some men who used to go fishing have lost all their equipment, and just want to go out with other fishermen one day. I should mention this to Ken.

Momentous events at the Wilsons.

Saturday was a red letter day here. Having said that, I started to wonder where that term originated. I know it means a day of significance, but who says? So I got on to good old Google and found the answer here.
Well, our Saturday was not a religious festival, so perhaps I should not have used the term. What the heck. It was a good day. Some of you observant bloggers may have noticed that I have changed the picture on my Profile thingo. The previous photo was about two years old. Old being the operative word, I decided the ponytail hairstyle had to go. So when my hairdresser was applying the blonde colour to my mousey locks, I asked her if she could give them a cut as well. She was delighted to, as she'd been telling me for some time that I'm too old (not quite in those words, otherwise she would no longer be my friend OR my hairdresser), to be sporting a pony tail. Hmmph.

So she cut a bit. I said more. She cut a bit more. Then I asked if she can make it interesting, so it doesn't look like a pudding basin jammed on to my head (my hair is dead straight). So she cut some layers, then put mousse into the hair, messed it up, dried it, and voila! I'm quite happy with the New Look!

The photo also shows the other reason for red letters. One of our bantams has been sitting on four eggs for 3 weeks. Unfortunately she is a first time Mum, and didn't seem to understand that one does NOT leave the nest box when one's eggs are in the process of hatching. So the first chick to hatch was the only survivor, because within minutes of him breaking out of his shell, he was off and running, and Mother Hen was off the nest to chase him! The other eggs were left too long and the chicks died. Ken was devastated, but this tiny little Person cheered him up somewhat!

If you are in the USA - please reply to this!

I've been watching the news about the tornadoes and hailstorms in the mid-West of America. While Victoria continues to come to terms with the bushfires, Americans have their own Armageddon to deal with. Tornadoes are even more unpredictable than bushfires; I don't know if I could live in the mid-western states. I'd be on edge for most of the year, I'm sure.
I know some of my blog friends live in the general area of this, so if you get a chance, please drop in here and say hi. We are thinking of you..